Seventh

The seventh crusade started in 1248 and ended in 1254. It was let by King Louis IX who was later known as Saint Louis IX because of his great devotion to god. King Louis IX was from France. After the Mamluks took Jerusalem in 1244 AD, Louis announced his Crusade (in 1245). Louis raised money from church tithes (tax collected by the church) and then sailed to Cyprus in 1248 (when he was 34 years old). From Cyprus, Louis attacked and took the port of Damietta in Egypt, which had caused so much trouble in the Fifth Crusade. The Ayyubids were very weak now and could not stop him. Using Damietta as a base, Louis then attacked Cairo, but the Mamluks arrived and defeated him. Louis was taken prisoner, and to get him back the French had to pay a lot of gold and give Damietta back. Louis IX paid approximately 50,000 bezants-gold coins(a sum equal to the entire annual revenue of France).Louis and his army left for Acre (AH-Ker) in Syria. In Acre, he tried to negotiate with the Mongols to get their help against the Mamluks, but the Mongols weren't interested. By 1254, Louis (now forty years old) had run out of money.